"A Life Changed"

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I want to start of this week by making a closing statement : “He always does.”

The past few weeks I was confronted a few times with moments where I had to make decisions. I was facing choices which I knew were going to have a definite impact on me and my life. I was constantly in front of God and the other night, literally begged Him to please give me guidance because I did not know what to do.

I got this clear answer from Him, a scripture I read a zillion times before, but this time round it has special meaning and I turned to the The Living Bible where it said, “I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress.”( Psalm 32:8 ). How special is that last part, that He will advise me and watch my progress. That in itself is such a clear assurance, He will help me to make the right decisions.

How do we know what God’s will if for us ? How do we know that what we do is His will or when a door opens for us, that is “our door.”

Well, first of all, whatever we decide to do and whatever happens to us as a result of our decisions will never contradict His word. Simply said, God will never lead us toward an opportunity that contradicts what He clearly says in his Word.

Is there a test for this ? For sure there is. Whatever it is that we do will never cause us to compromise on our values or beliefs and or walk in disobedience to get what we want or go where we need to be. Let’s face it, we as humans are prone to sin and we find ways to justify those actions of disobedience to get what we want, but that us not God’s way, not at all. When He opens doors for us, we will be able to walk right through knowing that He has made the way, often where there seems to be no way. Like 1 Peter 5 says, we have to cast all our anxieties on Him, because he cares for us. Maybe you are a little like me where I do the casting but also do the take it back’ing. Impatience to allow God to do what it is that He does best, taking care of me and all my needs.

I am also a firm believer of confirmation, that God will always confirm His will and ways for us through circumstances and through people, often through strangers. It is through prayer, discernment and seeking godly counsel that we will know what His true and divine is for us and through this He will help us to make the correct decisions in our lives. Let me give you and example. There is something, a really heavy burden on my heart this past few days and I honestly do not know what to do with it but I feel God says, “Wait”. For those who know me, this is not advice I like to hear. I am a doer, I am all about taking action and now, now I have to wait.

Is it all that bad you might ask ? Well for me, yes, but that is until I realised that waiting on God is like a build up to that moment when he will instruct me and guide me along the best pathway for my life and He will then continue to advise me and then the best part, watch my progress. That right there us God’s perfect will and purpose. You see when we learn to wait, we learn to rest in him, we learn to experience total peace, we show that we are humble and declare our dependency on God and these become the moments when we are often the most aware of His presence. We can also use the times of “waiting” to grab the opportunity to like May also just sit as His feet and spend quality time with Him and this is also when we get a better and deeper understanding of His Word and His will for us and this will lead to that very moment when the time of waiting will be over, the silence will be broken and God will show us what to do. All this makes the waiting all so much worth it.

The best part of waiting on God and then receive a word for us to do something, to make those decisions, it also bring along something very special, it brings us closer to Him. God will never lead us on a path that will alienate us from Him, it will always but always draw us closer to Him and that there us the final test, if you need one, if the decision you have made has done that; opened the door for you to do what it is you had to do but at the end of the day bringing you closer to Him. Let me take you back to Psalm 32, for God to “watch your progress”required for Him to be there. How amazing is that. So, the test will be basically this. If you find yourself saying something like “I can’t do this unless God goes before me,” or “I can do this, but only with God’s guidance and blessing” then I am pretty sure that it is very likely something God is calling you to do, so go, and do it.

Friends, remember, open doors are there for a reason, it is for us to live out of dreams and grow as a people but many times an “open door” from God is one that allow our faith to be stretched and strengthened. Is that not after all God’s objective for us: to grow in faith and Christ-likeness, so yes, God will make a way, he always does.

Comrades Marathon 2018, the 93rd edition of The Ultimate Human Race, a down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

COMRADES 2018 “I AM IN”

So where does one start? I guess at the beginning. Oh, not talking about the race but referring to my experience of this iconic race.

I certainly won’t go back to the beginning of time, though I need to shed some light onto the build up to race day which takes me to the day I decided that I will indeed do the race. The truth is, when I committed to line up for this year’s marathon, I was very aware of two things; it was going to be a tough day on the road and a finish or a tough day on the road and a fail. It was my intention to opt for the finish, but the DNF (Did Not Finish) was as real as the first year, and this year, even more than ever before.

My training for this year’s race was the worst ever. I previously had never done so few kilometers for Comrades before, not even when I was injured in 2015, so I was painfully aware the odds were stacked up against me. I had so many setbacks over the past few months that the probability of failing was ten to one bigger than that of finishing. When one faces personal challenges, a relationship breaking up after 16 years, relocating to a new home a few months later followed by urgent surgery due to some serious medical issues, you are humanly derailed and led to a place in your life where you don’t want to be. The reality was, I was in that dark place and getting back on track was my responsibility and mine alone.

I looked at the down run profile of the Comrades marathon and recognized landmarks and names; Polly Shortts, Little Pollys, Lion Park, Umlaas Road, Cato Ridge, Inchanga, Botha’s Hill, Hilcrest, Kloof, Fields Hill, Cowies Hill, Westville, 45th Cutting, Tolgate. All these have a significant and special meaning for athletes attempting this iconic race. I cannot help but think how they also symbolise the landmarks and special places in our lives where we are challenged with the harsh and very real realities of life, and yet, with all the odds stacked up against us, we push on and find a way to manage these odds. We find a way of dealing with it and through whatever it is, we then find our wisdom & strength. We somehow manage to beat the odds, maybe not always, but most of the time.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

This year’s Comrades to me was one of those races where the odds were stacked so high against me that I could not even see the other race day challenges of the Comrades so called “Big Five” before me ( Polly Shortts, Inchanga, Botha’s Hill, Fields Hill and Cowies Hill ).

RACE DAY

On the 10th of June 2018, I stood at the start of Comrades and I remember not having the slightest feeling of fear for what was lying ahead. In hindsight, I think this was because I knew that it was going to be a tough day anyway and adding fear and uncertainty would just be two more odds to have to fight later that day.

I remember singing “Shosholoza” with the other twenty thousand runners and thought about the translated English words of this song, wondering how many runners actually knows it. Roughly translated it means, “Go forward, go forward on those mountains, train from South Africa. Go forward go forward, you are running away, you are running away, on those mountains, train from South Africa” This song is an Ndebele folk song that originated in our neighbouring country Zimbabwe that later became popular in South Africa. I knew, all I had to do was trust myself, trust my own pacing, my will to finish and then do as the song says, “Go forward over those mountains like a South African runaway train.” One step at a time, left, right, left, right, and repeat to the end. A grueling 90.184 kilometers of torture was lying ahead and the plan for the day remained, “Just finish”.

On the back of this there was also the #Comrades4Bibles charity drive which I planned to do for the third consecutive year supporting the Bible Society of South Africa. This is another leg of my own charity “Run for Bible Rands” and money raised through #Comrades4Bibles goes towards the grand total for this charity at the end of the year. I also decided to dedicate this year’s Comrades to all those runners who were unable to run because they were sick, injured and/or because of other personal reasons and for those who were themselves were dealing with personal issues, challenges and hardships in various areas of their lives. I wrote down all these names and placed it in an envelope that was pinned to the back of my race number, so I knew, although this was my Comrades, my 5th attempt to finish the Ultimate Human Race, it was also for Bibles and it was in solidarity with those who faced tough times. For one day I was going to carry their names with me and symbolically carry their burdens as well on that day. Some may think this is silly and even corny, but that was fine, I knew this was what I wanted to do, and I did.

From the start, I reminded myself of how extremely important it was to break the race up into ‘bite-sized chunks’ and that is what I did. The terrain changes during the course of the day and the various stages of the race need different approaches and should be run differently. This is a golden rule that many athletes forget, sometimes even those who have been on this route far more times than I have. If you have a good day it does not mean you can just go out and be reckless. Comrades coach Lindsey Parry says this, “It is vital that your Comrades Marathon pacing strategy is well thought out before you start. Too fast and the Comrades route will slow you down later.”

I ran my first half of Comrades conservatively and felt great when I met up with our support team just before the half way mark. I have to say the severe drop into Drummond is always a personal highlight of the down run because I know just ahead, our amazing support team is waiting for us to give us that well deserved injection of positivity and encouragement.

NO AVOIDING THAT SO CALLED “SOLID BRICK WALL”

At around 80 km, a few steps into Cowies Hill, was the point where I hit my solid brick wall this year. I pulled off to the side of the road and leaned against a rail, just to take a break and refocus. This is where I my hand reached back to the envelope pinned to my race number with the names of people I was running for, saying, “God, I need your help, this is not just for me, this is for all these people fighting their own battles AND this is for the Bibles…” I was tired. I was sore. Field Hill already did its damage. My legs were heavy and hammered and I knew on the other side of Cowies the pain would get even more intense and real as we drop down towards Westville. I knew this was where the mental bashing would start. This was where Comrades became real. This is where Comrades gets real for most of us, because it is now no longer about the eighty odd kilometers we have already completed… it is about the next ten we still have to do. Runners often say your legs will get you to around eighty kilometers, your mind will then take you to the end. So true.

I got back on the road, struggled through the next thee kilometers and then the worst part of the race started, the last seven kilometers. I had no idea how far we were from the finish because the distance signs counting off the final kilometers were nowhere to be found. Apparently they were blown over by the wind earlier in the day and no one thought it was important to put them back up so we were literally running blind. I asked a few runners around me for their distance (on their watches) and everyone gave me a different figure so I knew the distance was not accurate. The route was in fact further, well according to our watches anyway. The only thing I could count on at that point was the actual time of the day so I switched my watch to that setting because I knew at 17.30 I needed to be at that finish line. It is horrible to run blind like this, not knowing what’s ahead. It was also a new finish venue meaning a new route to the end, so one could not even draw knowledge from any previous memories or experiences. Horrible.

THE FINISH IS NEAR, YET SO FAR

My first glimpse of the Moses Mabhida Stadium left me with even less hope that I was going to finish in time. It was already getting dark and that beacon seemed so far away. At that point, I just focused on slowing down my pace slightly, but keep running. I knew from my planning that an average pace of 07:55 min/km was going to be a close call, leaving little space for error, so I decided to make 07:40 min/km my aimed average pace. I ran at 07:39 min/km so in fact, I was according to my planning, still safe for a finish but the inaccurate distance info I got from everyone made me nip a bit. Was this going to be enough? Well, I decided to trust my own instinct, stick to my plan and hope it will be enough. Basically, I ran the last seven kilometers with the odd brisk walks at the water points, but no stopping, every step forward towards the finish. This was where the true meaning of “Asijiki” became a reality, “No turning back”.

I was overcome with relieve when I spotted the beginning of the TOYOTA red mile. I actually remember thinking to myself that there is just about 1.6km to go and then I am home. Entering the well-lit Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban stirred up a whirlwind of emotions in me and I was filled with pure relieve when I saw the first clock. I was safe! My race plan paid off, my pacing was spot on and I was going to bag that medal and I did. Again, I reminded myself of Lindsey Parry’s words, “It is vital that your Comrades Marathon pacing strategy is well thought out before you start.”

Honestly, this was my most difficult Comrades Marathon ever. This race challenged me on so many levels, leaving me vulnerable to whatever race day was going to throw at me. Lining up at the start with a mere 534km on your legs was ten to one the silliest thing I could do, but I was determined to get to that finish in, in time, and I did it. Obviously I would not recommend such little training to anyone, ever. Comrades Marathon is more a mental thing than anything else, I can now vouch for that. You have to be fierce, strong willed and focused otherwise you will not survive This Ultimate Human Race.

LIFE HAPPENS

Friends, in our lives we will encounter our very own Polly Shortts, Little Pollys, Lion Parks, Umlaas Roads, Cato Ridges, Inchangas, Botha’s Hills, Hilcrests, Kloosf, Fields Hills, Cowies Hills, Westvilles, 45th Cuttings and Tolgates, but know that how we approach these, how we see them as part of the bigger picture, that will determine if we will make it to the end. Sometimes life gets tough and you are faced with real life obstacles, challenges, and have to make life changing decisions that will forever change the course of your being. Just do it and focus on that beacon that is looming in a distance. Fight and push forward towards that goal so you can ultimately conquer and taste the victory. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Don’t let anyone else define your destiny.

One of my all-time favourite quotes is from Nelson Mandela who said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” The seemingly impossible is something you can accomplish. Maybe you’ve tried it before, maybe not, but it’s important to remember it can be done, and that very thoughts should drive you.

RUNNING FOR A CAUSE

I also once again realized the difference it makes in your motivation levels when you run for a cause. It makes you more stubborn (yes I said it) and also more focused, because it is no longer just about you, it’s about others, in my case, those who so generously gave towards #Comrades4Bibles and those names in that envelope pinned to the back of my race number. This elevates your wanting to get at that finish and all the doubt, the pain and suffering and even moments of self-pity, and let’s be real, even the thoughts of taking the easy way out and quit, disappears into thin air as you refocus and remind yourself why you are actually doing this.

In closing, again the words of Shosholoza”, “Go forward, go forward on those mountains, train from South Africa. Go forward go forward, you are running away, you are running away, on those mountains, train from South Africa”

THANK YOU

I want to thank my family, friends and even strangers who have so faithfully supported me over the past few months but more so during the last few weeks, days before and on race day. It was you believing in me when I didn’t and I guess even the unuttered thoughts and moments of doubt, that made me push myself to limits that I did not even know existed. To God, all the glory, all the honour, all the praise and my deepest gratitude for allowing me to continue on this 2018 Comrades journey, for using it as a tool to not only make a difference in people’s lives through Run for Bible Rands and #Comrades4Bibes projects, but for using it also as a tool in my own life to bring healing and a better understanding of who I am as a person with God compared to who I am without Him. Today, more than ever before, as I sit here typing this document, I cannot imagine my life without Him.

Last but not least, to every single athlete who have conquered Comrades Marathon 2018, The Ultimate Human Race, congratulations and well done. Whether it was just a finish, like me, a personal best or personal achievement like a green number or even double green, way to go, you’ve done it. To those who did not finish or maybe not achieved their planned goal, for whatever reason, it does not matter. Congrats to you for making it to the start and for pushing yourself to places you’ve never been before. If it was a tough day on the road, and it certainly was for me, then that is what Comrades brought to your day. Please remember though, whatever it was that prevented you from not achieving your goal or not making it to that finish line does not define you. What defines you is the fact that you stayed true to yourself and you had the mere guts to line up for this iconic race. It was Colin Powel l who said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure”. Ten to one, not reaching your race day goal or not finishing, had nothing to do with you not preparing and or not putting in the hard work. The fact is and remains, race day is always unique in every possible way. Learn from this experience and do it different in 2019.

Editorial support : Karen Clouter, Madoc, ON, Canada

– the end –

OTHER

You can still use this link https://form.myjotform.com/81141565181553 if you want so send me a personal message, or if you supported the #Comrades4Bibles cause then please tell me why you did. Get in touch, I love to hear from you guys.

Run for Bible Rands continues and we as athletes, runners, walkers and Park Runners, will continue to make our miles and moment count for more than just a medal as we donate R1 for each kilometer we do in official races every month to the Bible Society of South Africa. So far we have raised R 9, 076.10 though this charity and this will make available a total of 153 FREE Bibles to those who needs it most. You can join us in making a difference. Just follow the link above and sign up.

Even the most fortunate of us can face setbacks every now and again. I am no different than anyone else. Since July 2017, I have been dealing with major disappointments, dissolving a 16 year relationship and the pain and heartbreak that came with it. In November, some health issues resulting in a serious operation stopped me in my tracks as far as running and training was concerned. Starting over has challenged my limits and beyond on so many levels.

Often, when struggling, we can feel overwhelmed or powerless. I did. It’s true, there are many things in life we can’t control, including big challenges such as redundancy, broken relationships or bereavement. Taking small, positive steps in any area of our life can have a ripple effect, increasing our sense of self-efficacy and eventually enabling us to move forward, and that is what I did. I took what I had and channeled my energy towards the one thing I still could control, my running. Bouncing back after so much time off was not easy, but I knew I had to do what I could with what I had if I wanted to make this work. Baby steps indeed, but they were all forward, towards my goal, #Comrades4Bibles2018

I stayed away from doing too much too soon because if I didn’t, the risk of injury was almost guaranteed. I knew I’d benefit from paying more conscious attention to what was going right. It was about making an honest and balanced perspective. I knew the best way of distracting myself from what was going on was to keep on training because any kind of exercise has a physical impact on our brain, helping us to think more clearly and to focus with intent.

So far this year, I have literally done three official races, Monster 32km, Om die Dam 50km and last weekend, Loskop 50km. Obviously, this is not all the training I’ve done. I did what I could on the road and in the gym to get myself up to par again. This was, and still is no easy journey, but was never promised to be. Every road to Comrades is different and has its own challenges. This one is no exception. So, I have been tested emotionally, spiritually, mentally and definitely physically as well. In the end, it’s up to me and me alone.

Friday morning, 27th of April, after my 24 km solo run, I made the decision. I’m happy with my progress and I am going to Comrades 2018. This year will definitely not be a run for a time, but a finish and making sure each step embodies the slogan for Comrades 2018 : ASIJIKI – No turning back.

Comrades4Bibles2018 is an extension of my charity drive #Run4BibleRands and that is why, as in past years, all proceeds from this years Comrades run will also go to the Bible Society of South Africa. My web page for this year’s Comrades4Bibles2018 is now live at the link below.

Last year’s final amount received as donations

Final Editing : Karen Clouter ( Thank you )

It is really a sad day when other people start to dictate to you how big or how small you should dream.

A few years ago no one would believe me if I told them that I was going to take up running, not to mention the crazy idea to take on the world’s toughest ultra-marathon, the ultimate human race, Comrades. You can imagine the reaction I got from my friends and family. I must say, the support was next to nothing, amazing, unselfish, in most cases. In general people never understood what I was doing, well, what I was trying to do, but they still supported me.

Well, this was my decision, my dream. I followed my dream, I trained, prepared myself and I did my first Comrades and now we are four years down the line and I am heading for Comrades number five. This will be a down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday, the 10th of June 2018. The 2018 Comrades slogan is fittingly, “Asijiki – No Turning Back”

This brings me to the matter at hand today; when you don’t have that support and people don’t support you.

I know someone who gave up on her Comrades dream and decided to pull out of Comrades. This was also going to be her back to back. I was saddened when I heard this and I am convinced that this is not because she does not want to do Comrades but because she had to let go of this dream because of someone else’s selfishness and as a result of that, non-support. What a sad reality. Maybe you know someone like this.

It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, “I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!”

In this process, in her case, the strong and fighting character we got to know on the road in some way will die a slow and selfish death and we will miss her fighting spirit and support especially on those long, trying and defining races, but as we continue on this journey that we are on, we will continue to follow our own dreams and give it our very best shot to make it become our reality.

When we follow our own dreams, I think it is only human that we expect support and encouragement from the people we consider close to us; instead some sadly experience only rejection and criticism, making the journey even tougher.

We have to learn not to care so much about what others think.

Remember that your passion is the priority. Try to avoid that “What if…” moments. A lot of people go through the motions in life, not doing what they love or dream about. They end up looking back with regret at the things they dreamt about but did not do.

Whether people support you or not, please try to avoid that moment when you look back with regret at those dreams you never followed. Your dreams are the most important things in your life. Follow your heart and do what is right for you and avoid a life lived to please and live up to other’s expectations or a life lived to avoid other’s negative reaction or jealousy. It is just not worth it.

Remember, life is short and we have but one life to live, but if we do it right and to the fullest I guess once is enough.

Living the life others want you to live makes you nothing but a puppet on a string. This is plain wrong. It is important to live your life; just to live out your dreams but also to bring you to the place where you can reach and fulfil your own full potential. Again, life is short, make the most of it. Live your best possible life.

It is also important to know that people often don’t support us just because they do not want us to fulfil our dreams but merely because they just don’t understand us and they do not see what drives us. This often make them seem dissenting, bit it is not the case.

I personally try not to take it to heart when people discourage me. I realize that they are uninformed and often it is best just to ignore them.

Another fact is that people often do not support us or do not allow us to live our dreams because they have their own insecurities and difficulty to focus on and live out their own dreams. This is sad but true. Often this is a major obstacle couples have to overcome, where the one dreams big and the other not at all. Unfortunately the reality here is that this could be as a result of plain ignorance or even stone cold jealousy.

I have used this quote a zillion times before, even in the video I did with Discovery on Medical Miracles. It was Madiba who said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”, so remember, anything is possible. I am living proof of this.

We cannot predict the future, no one can, but please do not get caught up on the doom and gloom of what others believe is possible or not. Dream big and do whatever it takes to make your dreams come true. Don’t let objections from others become your truth and limit you from creating what you want in life. Fact is, anything is possible if you believe in yourself and work hard.

You have to believe that you can realize your dreams without those who do not want to support you. Yes, it is natural to want support and encouragement from those close to us, but it is possible to do what you want to do without it also. It is fact that many successful and inspiring people took the road less travelled. The potential to realize your dreams is locked up inside of you and you have to believe that, make it your own and then don’t give up. Pursue your own dreams, live your own life and become the best version of who you were meant to be.

Let me share this last thought. Another life lesson I have learned is that we cannot please everyone. It is virtually impossible. So, keep your focus on what you want to do and know why. In an ideal world, I think, we all would love to be constantly surrounded by positive people who will support us in everything we do, but this is not going to happen. Reality dictates that there will always be those who will want to drag us down with them to their graveyard of unaccomplished and unfulfilled dreams and where negativity reigns. Let’s not go there!

Friends, dream big and optimize your talents. Our lives are filled with timeless opportunities, we need to seize every opportunity and make it great. Please, do not allow others to snatch your dreams from you

So Comrades 2017 is something of the past. Some runners started training again, others are still lying low and taking it easy.

I have learned during my years of running that recovering from a marathon or ultra-marathon is a critical component of a perfect training plan that runners often neglect. Unfortunately, if you don’t properly recover from your long run, you’ll increase you injury risk and limit your long-term potential. Simple as that.

For those who have done a marathon or two before will know that these events are really tough on our bodies. From muscles and tendons to hormones and cells – almost every system in your body is pushed to the max and undergoes extreme physical exertion during these runs. It therefore makes perfect sense that we should do everything you we to help your body recover once the long run is over.

I am not going to tell people what to do and what not to do, there are a lot of resources out there that can help with that, all I can say is do not be in a hurry to get into the full swing of things too soon. Give your body a chance to recover and especially, like before your marathon or ultra-marathon, avoid being around sick people. Remember putting your body through the paces at these endurance events gives your body’s immune system a massive knock. Athletes who participate in endurance events like marathons and ultra-marathons, are therefore at an increased risk of picking up minor illnesses or infections – most commonly upper respiratory tract infections.

I personally know a lot of runners who fell ill after Comrades, some serious and others not so serious, but it just underlines the fact that it is a reality.

You can try to limit this risk by avoiding deficiencies and ensure adequate intake of carbohydrates, proteins, fluids and micronutrients like iron, zinc, Vitamin B6, B12, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Also make sure you stay hydrated.

For the past week I’ve been dealing with an ankle injury, yes nothing to do with hydration or stacking up on the vitamins, but it is simply because I did what I decided not to do, and did a half-marathon as my first post-comrades race. Stupid ! So now I am taking it easy, making sure I get rid of this injury so I can start with my proper training at the beginning of August. I am already back in gym for about four weeks now, but beginning of August the focused training starts so I can be ready for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on the 17th of September 2017 and hopefully this will be my Comrades 2018 qualifier race.

Well friends, time to sign off. I hope all of you are doing well and are still on track with your training plans and busy doing what you have to to make those dreams come true.

Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra-Marathon is without doubt one of my favorite event on the running calendar. I just love this race, not only because it is definitely the most beautiful marathon in the world, not only because it is in Cape Town, not only because it is well organized, not only because it was my first ultra-marathon and not only because it gives us a chance to take a short break, but also because of the unique challenge of this race.

This year I arrived here in Cape Town with one goal for OMTOM2017, to just run my race and decided that I will be happy with a comfortable sub 6, but most importantly I wanted finish without issues, without injury and feeling good. Race day offered me that and more. My unofficial plan was to try and get a PB in the bag, with a possible 05:47 (previous personal best was 05:50 in 2014 ).

As race day unfolded along this amazing breathtaking OMTOM route, I realized that I was on track to make it happen. At 17 km I had to stop because of severe nausea, but once I’ve taken care of that, it was back to the road pushing towards the finish line. When I got to the bottom of Chapmans Peak I was still on track and felt great. I maneuvered my way up ‘Chappies’ with caution, worked in three proper stops, with about three minutes of walking and then made up some time down the other side. I knew ‘fly now pay later’ will soon be a reality if I was not cautious. Getting into Hout Bay I felt great. I passed the 42km mark and almost fell over when I noticed it was 04:11 into the race. This where I got little positive booster, realizing the plan for the day was busy playing out really well. I planned ahead for Constantia Nek and I once again wondered, can one really be prepared for Constantia? Anyway, I continued and knew every step was a step closer to the finish.

The plan changed slightly when I caught up with Melinda Smal and Esti Kemp from Magnolia about 7 km from the end. Drill Sergeant Smal was not interested in excuses whatsoever so Esti and I just had latch on and run. There was no mercy whatsoever. But it was all good, at this stage I knew the PB was in the bag it was just a matter of what time it was going to be. Turning into the UCT grounds is always a joy, this time round, even more so.

I crossed the finish line with Melinda and Esti at 05:42:54.

#OMTOM2017 mission accomplished !

It is in moments like this that one can appreciate the progress made, when you see the results of hard work and commitment, many early mornings, endless kilometers in the road and hours in the gym. It all comes together on days like this. Hard work pays off, that is for sure. Fact is, good runs like this don’t just happen, you train for it, you work hard for it, but the reward is great when you reach your goals and that is when you move those boundaries a little further.

I want to thank everyone who supported me, all the messages, following me on the app and the calls, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

It is now a short week of taking it easy and then this coming weekend we will take on the Loskop 50km Ultra Marathon, now that is going to be interesting, to say the least. But we will be there and take it as it comes.

We are four days away from running the Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in Cape Town on Saturday 15th of April 2017.

The Two Oceans Ultra Marathon is the most beautiful marathon in the world and it is definitely a race very close to my heart because it was my first ultra-marathon I did, way back in 2015. I’ve certainly had my ups and downs at this race, but thank goodness there were more ups than downs, band by “ups” I don’t mean Chappies and Constantia Nek.

My best time was 05.50.14 and I am going to try, with the emphasis on “try” to better this time, even if it just with a few minutes. I just want to finish strong, without any issues and also without injury because a week later, on the 22nd of April I will once again line up for another race, this time the Loskop Ultra Marathon.

My plan for Two Oceans is to get out of the bundle as quick as possible without having to sprint necessarily. There are ways to free yourself from the field without having to do the 100m dash. Then I also want to find my rhythm as early as possible in the race. It is important for me to hold back and run easy and in check during the first three to five kilometres because this is where the speed traps are. It is easy to get sucked in by the fast stream and to start too fast will be the wrong thing to do. I maintain what I always say, “Fly now, pay later”. This is also warm up time, to get the blood flowing, the muscles warmed up and breathing settled.

In the first 28km I want to run a bit on the conservative side and see how it plays out because the challenges are mainly for me in the second 28km and those two iconic hills, Chapmans Peak and then the dreaded Constantia Nek. To prepare for this I have up my average pace a little on the first half to make up for the time wasters on the second lap.

The second half is a challenge, mainly because fatigue is kicking in and you have to navigate those constant climbs and also keep enough fuel in the tank not only to get over Constantia Nek but to be strong to endure the last ten kilometers to the end. This stretch is mostly down but what makes this part a challenge is the twists and turns and the camber that really get to your ankles The final three kilometers should be a breeze for any other event but after 53km you usually feel it and just to make sure you face one more little challenge, that final little uphill leading runners to the finish venue at UCT. The support here is usually very good and the cheering really helps to get runners home.

Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon is one of the nicest finishes for me, coming into those grounds with that sharp turn to the left, a quick straight and then the right turn into the final stretch with the finish line in front of you welcoming everyone home after a long morning on the road.

Well, that is the plan. This is a stepping stone to something bigger, Comrades 2017. It is important for me to just have a good and comfortable Oceans, most of all just enjoy the time on the road with fellow runners from all walks of life, the gorgeous scenery and enjoying the warm support from the side of the road. We love the crowds who come out to support us as we feed of their energy, equally so also all the amazing volunteers making sure we stay hydrated, fed and entertained along the route. Shout out to all of you !

Good luck to all my friends and strangers who will be taking on the 56km Ultra run this weekend. May you all be safe and may you all get the results you were training for. Go out and let’s all Run As One !